‘Spy’ reveals Melissa McCarthy’s comic gifts at last

Rose Byrne (left) is a foil for adroitly comic leading lady Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy.”

Rose Byrne (left) is a foil for adroitly comic leading lady Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy.”

Photo: Handout, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Photo: Handout, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Rose Byrne (left) is a foil for adroitly comic leading lady Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy.”

Rose Byrne (left) is a foil for adroitly comic leading lady Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy.”

Photo: Handout, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

‘Spy’ reveals Melissa McCarthy’s comic gifts at last

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Ever since “Bridesmaids” launched her movie career four years ago, Melissa McCarthy has not had an easy time in pictures. With the exception of “The Heat,” in which she co-starred opposite Sandra Bullock, McCarthy’s movies have not only been disappointing, but suggested that filmmakers had no idea what to do with her. She has been too sentimental (“Tammy,” “St. Vincent”) or too harsh (“Identity Thief”), and she has only been funny in small doses, as in “This Is 40.”

It had begun to seem as though McCarthy was a natural supporting comic and should not be headlining movies — but now comes “Spy,” the first film to make a real case for her as a name-above-the-the-title star. It’s an important movie for her and comes not a moment too soon, a comic delight that showcases her in a range of modes. Everything anybody likes about Melissa McCarthy is contained in this movie.

Engagingly hostile

She has subtle moments of comic acting, in which she has to react to people with a complexity of emotion. She gets to show her abilities as a straight man, suppressing frustration at the clueless people around her. The movie showcases her slapstick ability, too, her inspired silliness; and it also gives her a chance to be aggressive and verbally abusive. Nobody is better than McCarthy at over-the-top comic hostility.

It’s no surprise that “Spy” was written and directed by someone who knows what McCarthy can do — Paul Feig, who directed her best movies, “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat.” “Spy” has the feel of something tailored for a specific performer, and it’s a perfect fit.

At the start of the movie, Susan works for the CIA, but in a humble capacity — in a basement office at Langley that’s infested by mice and rats. (The vermin infestation is a zany extra touch, recurring throughout the movie, and it says something about Feig’s willingness to pursue and get a laugh.) Susan’s job is to read the heat-sensitive map and give her super-spy in the field (Jude Law) moment-by-moment instructions, and it’s very clear, as she does, that she can barely contain her crush on him.

When a terrorist network busts the identities of the CIA’s entire staff of field operatives, the director has no choice but to turn to someone the terrorists don’t already know. And so Susan is sent to Paris to follow and report on the various terrorists’ activities. She has the usual assortment of secret weapons and gadgets, but as her alias is unglamorous, the gadgets are disguised as things like hemorrhoid wipes, antifungal toe spray and stool softener. A running joke throughout the movie is that the CIA keeps giving her covert identities that make her look like “someone’s homophobic aunt.”

Well-cast characters

Jason Statham, who can be very funny but rarely gets the chance, plays a blustering rogue agent who can’t stop bragging about his exploits — for example, he had his arm blown off but reattached it with his other arm, or he jumped from a building using nothing but a raincoat as a parachute — though it’s clear that he’s a liar and a fumbler. As the amoral daughter of a notorious terrorist, Rose Byrne is ideally matched with McCarthy, as her opposite in look, manner and temperament.

“Spy” is two hours long, a bit of a stretch for a comedy, but it doesn’t seem long at all and keeps finding ways to renew its energy. It was filmed in Paris and Budapest, two highly photogenic cities, and they help. If you’re just writing a screenplay, you might as well set it in any hellhole, but if you’re both writing and directing, Paris and Budapest are inspired choices. Everyone involved seems to have had a good time with “Spy,” and so will the audience.